Chair having integrated safety belt

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a chair having an integrated safety belt, the chair comprising a seat and a seat-back and being characterised by comprising a safety belt which is detachably attached to the seat and/or the seat-back, and which has a buoyant body packed therein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a chair having an integrated life belt and, more particularly, to a chair to which a life belt is detachably attached.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a life belt is a water safety product which is necessarily provided for a car or airplane accident, or a marine accident, such as a ship accident and the like. This life belt is usually disposed under a chair of a car, an airplane or a ship or stowed in a separate storage place.

When the life belt is kept under a chair, it is inconvenient for a passenger to pull the life belt from under the chair due to a small distance between the chair and an adjacent chair. Also, when the life belt is kept in a separate storage place, since the storage place should be prepared inside a car, an airplane or a ship, space design is limited. Furthermore, when the life belt is distributed to each passenger in an emergency situation, it is problematic in that it takes time for the passenger to put on the life belt.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a chair having an integrated life belt that can minimize a space for keeping the life belt by integrally forming the life belt with the chair.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a chair having an integrated life belt, which is configured such that the life belt is detachably attached to a seat or a seat-back of the chair so that a user can easily separate the life belt from the seat or the seat-back and put on it in an emergency situation.

The objects and various advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood by those having ordinary skill in the art based on a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a chair having an integrated life belt, including: a seat; a seat-back; and a life belt detachably attached to at least one area of the seat or seat-back and filled with a buoyant body therein.

Here, the life belt is formed in an annular or polygonal shape having an opening. A connecting member for closing the opening by connecting both sides of the life belt to each other may be provided at both side of the life belt in which the opening is formed.

Also, the life belt may include an edge area having a horseshoe-like shape, and a plurality of folded areas formed in an inner side of the edge area and folded to the edge area so as to form a receiving space in the inner side of the edge area.

Furthermore, the chair having the integrated life belt may further include a handle part provided on an upper surface of the life belt adjacent to the opening and facilitating separation of the life belt from the seat or the seat-back.

Also, the life belt may be attached to the seat or the seat-back so that an upper surface of the life belt is located on the same line as that of the seat-back or the seat, thereby preventing seating comfort from being deteriorated.

Also, the buoyant body may be made of a solid having buoyancy.

Also, the buoyant body may be made of gas which may be filled in an emergency.

Advantageous Effects

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a chair having an integrated life belt is configured such that the life belt is detachably attached to a seat or a seat-back of the chair, thereby usually providing the user with as comfortable seating as that of a general chair. Meanwhile, when an emergency situation occurs, the life belt is separated from the seat or the seat-back so that the user can rapidly put on the life belt and cope with the emergency situation.

That is, since the chair having the integrated life belt of the present invention is detachably attached to the seat or seat-back, a separate attachable and detachable space for keeping the life belt is not needed. Accordingly, a space of a car, an airplane or a ship can be more widely efficiently used.

Also, since the life belt is attached to the seat or the seat-back which the use can easily approach, when an emergency situation occurs, the user can rapidly put on the life belt and cope with the emergency situation.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a chair having an integrated life belt according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an attachable and detachable structure of the life belt of the chair having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views illustrating the configuration of a cross section taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views illustrating a state in which a user is wearing the life belt of the chair having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating the configuration of a chair having an integrated life belt according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views illustrating the configuration of a chair having an integrated life belt according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the configuration of a chair having an integrated life belt according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

The advantages, features and method for achieving them will be clear with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments which will be described in detail later. The exemplary embodiments may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Furthermore, the exemplary embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention and are provided to completely give the category of the invention to those having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, and the present invention is only defined by the category of claims. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures in the specification. Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a chair 100 having an integrated life belt according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the separation structure of a life belt 140 of the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment;

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a frame 110; a seat 120 attached to the frame 110 and seated by a user; a seat-back 130 connected to the frame 110 to support the user's back; and a life belt 140 detachably attached to the seat-back 130.

The frame 110 supports the seat 120 and the seat-back 130. The frame 110 is made of a material having strong durability, such as metal. The frame 110 is fixed to a car, a ship or an airplane or is movably provided.

The seat 120 is connected to the frame 110 so that the user can sit down. The seat 120 is formed to be cushioned in order to improve seating comfort when the user sits in the chair. To achieve this, the seat 120 may be formed by filling soft material such as cotton inside a covering made of a natural leather, artificial leather or fiber material.

The seat-back 130 is connected to the frame 110, and preferably, the seat-back 130 is connected perpendicular to the seat 120 and supports the back of the user who sits in the seat 120. The chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the life belt 120 is attached to a surface of the seat-back 130. The seat-back 130 includes a support cushion part 133 disposed in a middle area to support the user's back; and a connecting part 131 disposed in an edge area of the support cushion part 133 and connected to the life belt 140.

Like the seat 120, the support cushion part 133 may be formed by filling soft material such as cotton inside a covering made of a natural leather, artificial leather or fiber material. The connecting part 131 is formed to correspond to a shape of the life belt 140 in the edge area of the support cushion part 133. The connecting part 131 forms a space which is recessed compared to the support cushion part 133 and to which the life belt 140 is connected. That is, when the life belt 140 is connected to the connecting part 131, the connecting part 131 is recessed as much as a height of the life belt so that an upper surface of the life belt 140 and an upper surface of the support cushion part 133 are formed in the almost same height. This is intended to prevent the user who sits in the seat from inconvenience which may be caused when a difference in height is generated at an adjacent area of the connecting part 131 and the support cushion part 133.

Meanwhile, a fixing member for fixing the life belt 140 to the connecting part 131 is provided on a plate surface of the connecting part 131. The fixing member is provided on the plate surface of the connecting part 131 and a rear surface of the life belt 140, respectively. The fixing member may be provided in the form of a Velcro member 132, or in the form of a button 134. In addition to this, the fixing member may be provided in various forms in which two members can be detachably attached to each other.

Meanwhile, the connecting part 131 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed in the edge area of the seat-back 130. However, the connecting part 131 may be formed in an inner area of the seat-back 130 according to circumstances. Also, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured in the form in which the seat 120 and the seat-back 130 are supported by the frame 110, but according to circumstances, it may be configured of only the seat 120 and the seat-back 130 without the frame 110. For example, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt may be configured in a sofa-like form or may be configured such that the life belt 140 is attached to the seat-back 130 of a sofa.

In the seat-back 130, a shape and disposition of each of the connecting part 131 and the support cushion part 133 may be appropriately designed according to a size and shape of the life belt 140.

Meanwhile, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the life belt 140 is attached to the seat-back 130, but the life belt 140 may be also attached to the seat 120. That is, the seat may have the same configuration as that of the seat-back 130, and the life belt 140 may be connected to an edge area of the seat 120.

The life belt 140 is detachably attached to the connecting part 131 of the seat-back 130. The life belt 140 is connected to the connecting part 131 as usual, thereby supporting the user's back along with the seat-back 130, and the life belt 140 is separated from the connecting part 131 in an emergency, thereby performing a role of the life belt 140.

The life belt 140 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed in an annular shape or a polygonal shape having an opening 142 formed in one area thereof. That is, as illustrated in the drawing, the life belt 140 may formed in a Korean letter “

”-like shape or a Korean letter “

”-like polygonal shape, or it may be formed in a circular or elliptical shape. Also, if necessary, an end portion of the opening 142 is concavely molded so that the user can take the life belt conveniently. The shape of the life belt 140 is designed according to a design of the seat 120 or the seat-back 130 to which the life belt 140 is attached and is provided to correspond to a shape of the connecting part 131.

The life belt 140 includes a life belt body 141 formed to have the opening 142, a buoyant body 144 provided in an inner portion of the life belt body 141 to form buoyancy, and the connecting members 145, 147 formed at both sides of the life belt 140 having the opening 142 and for closing the opening 142 by connecting the both sides of the life belt 142 to each other.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views illustrating the configuration of a cross section taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1. As illustrated in the drawings, the life belt 140 is configured such that the buoyant body 144 is received in an inner portion of the life belt body 141 made of a waterproof material. Here, the buoyance member 144 may be made of a solid having buoyancy as illustrated in FIG. 3 or a gas as illustrated in FIG. 4. The buoyant body 144 of the solid form is formed by processing foaming resins such as foams resulting from foaming and molding a synthetic resin, such as polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nonviolent resistance (NVR), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and the like in a plate-like shape, and is received in the inner portion of the life belt body 141.

The buoyant body A of the gas form is filled in the inner portion of the life belt body 141 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The buoyant body A of the gas form may be filled in the inner portion of the life belt body 141 from the time of manufacturing, or may be filled by pulling a pulling member 148 after separating the life belt body 141 from the seat-back 130 in an emergency.

The opening 142 formed in the life belt body 141 forms a wearing space where the user can put on the life belt 140, and a receiving space 143 for receiving the user's body is formed in the inner portion of the life belt body 141. That is, as the user puts on the life belt via the opening 142, the user's body is inserted into the receiving space 143.

The connecting members 145, 147 are connected to both inner sides of the opening 142 and close the opening when the user puts on the life belt 141. Thus, by preventing the life belt 140 from being separated from the user, a state in which the user puts on the life belt 140 can be stably maintained for a long time.

The connecting members 145, 147 may have the form of buckles which are connected to each other in a male and female form, or the form of a connection ring 154 having the same shape as that illustrated in FIG. 8. In addition to this, the connecting members 145, 147 may use publicly known configurations such as a zipper or a button in which a connection state can be stably maintained for a long time. Meanwhile, the connecting members 145, 147 have a length controlling member so that the life belt 140 can be in close contact with the user's body.

A use process of the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention which has such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

The chair 100 having the integrated life belt may be installed in all transportation means including a car, a ship, an airplane and the like which may cause various accidents including a marine accident. Also, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt may be installed in an area where disasters such as a typhoon, tidal wave, flood and the like occur frequently, an area where occurrence of disasters is expected, or in a home or office in which the chair can be installed.

In the chair 100 having the integrated life belt installed in such a manner, the life belt 140 is connected to the connecting part 131 of the seat-back via the fixing member.

When the user sits on the seat 120, the buoyant body 144 received in the inner portion of the life belt 140 along with the support cushion part 1331 can provide to the user with a cushioned surface, thereby providing comfortable seating to the user.

Meanwhile, when an emergency situation is detected, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the user may put on the life belt 140 using the connecting members 145 and 147 by separating only the end portion of the life belt having the opening 142 from the seat-back 130 in a state of sitting in the chair 100 having the integrated life belt. After this, when a situation in which the user should escape from a car, an airplane or a ship occurs, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the user may escape by separating remaining parts of the life belt 140 from the seat-back. In a case where the user gets into the water in this state, the user floats due to buoyancy of the buoyance member 144.

As reviewed above, the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention usually provides the user with as comfortable seating as a general chair because the life belt is detachably attached to the seat or the seat-back. Meanwhile, the life belt is separated from the seat or the seat-back in an emergency situation, thereby enabling the user to put on the life belt and to cope with the emergency situation.

That is, a separate attachable and detachable space for keeping the life belt is not needed for the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention because the life belt is detachably attached to the seat or the seat-back. Thus, the space of a car, an airplane or a ship can be more widely efficiently used.

Also, since the life belt is attached to the seat or the seat-back which the user can easily approach, the user can rapidly put on the life belt at the time of occurrence of an emergency situation, thereby coping with the emergency situation.

Meanwhile, FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a chair 100 a having an integrated life belt according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating magnification of the life belt 150.

In the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention as previously described, the life belt 140 is formed in a horseshoe or Korean letter “

”-like shape on the whole, but the life belt 150 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be formed in a Korean letter “

”-like shape on the whole. Furthermore, a width of the opening of the life belt 130 may be narrowly formed, and a pair of connection rings 154 may be provided at both sides of the opening. Thus, the life belt 150 according to the second exemplary embodiment may have an improved adhesion property to the user's body compared to the life belt 140 according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a chair 100 b having an integrated life belt according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating magnification of the configuration of a life belt 160 according to the third exemplary embodiment.

In the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention as previously described, the life belt 140 is provided to be connected to the edge area of the seat-back 130, but the life belt 160 according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed to cover an entire area of the seat-back 130.

The life belt 160 includes an edge area 161 disposed at an outer side of the user's body, a receiving space 166, and a plurality of folded areas 162, 163 disposed to be foldable in an inner side direction to the edge area 161 in a middle area except for the edge area 161 and for forming the receiving space 166 at the inner side of the edge area. The edge area 161 is formed in a horseshoe-like shape or a Korean letter “

”-like shape as that of the life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the life belt 160 according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention, along with the edge area 161, the plurality of folded areas 162, 163 usually perform a role of the seat-back in a state of being unfolded, and are folded to the inner side of the edge area 161 in an emergency situation, thereby forming the receiving space 166 in which the user's body is received. The number of folded areas 162, 163 may be controlled according to a size of the life belt 160 and a size of the seat-back.

Connection buckles 164 a, 164 b for closing the opening area are provided in a lower area of the life belt 160. In the chair 100 b having the integrated life belt according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the life belt itself performs a role of the seat-back, the chair 100 b having the integrated life belt is advantageous that an entire configuration thereof is simple compared to that of the chair 100 having the integrated life belt according to the first exemplary embodiment.

Meanwhile, FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the configuration of a chair 100 c having an integrated life belt according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the chair 100 c having the integrated life belt according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a life belt 180 is formed over the seat-back 130 and the seat 120.

Also, a handle part 185 for separating the life belt 180 to the outside is provided on a plate surface of the life belt 180. The handle part 185 may be located at one side (including an upper surface or a side of the life belt) of the life belt 180 adjacent to the opening of the life belt 180. The handle part 185 is provided to be easy to pull in a direction for separating the life belt 180 connected to the connecting part 131 to the outside via the fixing member. The handle part 185 is formed to protrude to the plate surface of the life belt 140 so that the user can easily grip the handle part.

While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention provides the chair having the integrated life belt which is configured such that the life belt is detachably attached to the seat or the seat-back which constitutes the chair, thereby usually providing the user with as comfortable seating as that of a general chair. Meanwhile, when an emergency situation occurs, the life belt is separated from the seat or the seat-back so that the user can put on the life belt and cope with the emergency situation.

Since the chair having the integrated life belt of the present invention is configured such that the life belt is detachably attached to the seat or the seat-back, the separate attaching and detaching space for keeping the life belt is not needed. Accordingly, the space of a car, an airplane or a ship can be more broadly efficiently used.

Furthermore, since the life belt is attached to the seat-back or the seat which the user can easily approach, when an emergency situation occur, the user can rapidly put on the life belt and cope with the emergency situation. 

1. A chair having an integrated life belt, comprising: a seat; and a life belt detachably attached to at least one area of the seat and filled with a buoyant body therein, wherein the life belt comprises: an edge area having a horseshoe-like shape; and a plurality of folded areas formed in an inner side of the edge area and folded to the edge area so as to form a receiving space in the inner side of the edge area.
 2. A chair having an integrated life belt, comprising: a seat; a seal-back; and a life belt detachably attached to at least one area of the seat or the seal-back and filled with a buoyant body therein, wherein the life belt comprises: an edge area having a horseshoe-like shape; and a plurality of folded areas formed in an inner side of the edge area and folded to the edge area so as to form a receiving space in the inner side of the edge area.
 3. The chair of claim 1 or 2, wherein the life belt is formed in an annular shape or a polygonal shape having an opening, and a connecting member for closing the opening by connecting both side of the life belt to each other is formed at the both sides of the life belt in which the opening is formed.
 4. The chair of claim 3, further comprising a handle part formed on one side of the life belt adjacent to the opening and for enabling the life belt to be easily separated from an area to which the life belt is attached.
 5. The chair of claim 1, wherein the life belt is attached to the seat so that an upper surface thereof is located on the same line as an upper surface of the seat, thereby preventing seating comfort from being deteriorated.
 6. The chair of claim 2, wherein the life belt is attached to the seat-back or the seat so that an upper surface thereof is located on the same line as an upper surface of the seat-back or seat, thereby preventing seating comfort from being deteriorated.
 7. The chair of claim 1 or 2, wherein the buoyant body is made of a solid having buoyancy.
 8. The chair of claim 1 or 2, wherein the buoyant body is made of gas which is filled in an emergency. 